The Mindy Project

Season 1 SABC3 (*193) 19:30 Comedy

Xosha Roquemore was born to play Mindy’s (Mindy Kaling) work ally Nurse Tamra on comedy series The Mindy Project (2012-2017). “In the breakdown for the role, the character’s name was Xosha and it was spelt exactly like my name,” she reveals. “I sing and narrate things that I do, like Tamra. I don’t know how the writers knew that about me but it was in the original breakdown.” Xosha admits that she is actually more of a Mindy. “I feel like I’m Mindy Lahiri in real life, which is probably not cool, but it’s the truth. Her character has a similar sense of humour to me.”

Xosha’s dad, Detroit-born director Cliff Roquemore, once directed a play of Shaka Zulu and named her in honour of the Xhosa tribe, although he swapped the letters around for her. Xosha earned a BFA at the elite Tisch School Of The Arts in NYC in 2007 and her mom Shay Wafer is the managing director of the Cornerstone Theater Company. “I grew up in the arts. If I wasn’t acting, I’d be doing something else with performance, like stand-up. I’m not about to be a doctor. If I don’t perform, I die!” says Xosha. The 33-year-old welcomed her son with Lakeith Stanfield (Darius in Atlanta, 20162018) in June 2017. She re-watched season 3 of her show in which Mindy is pregnant and has her baby onscreen and went back to work in July 2017. Xosha has a simple morning habit that “gets me started on the right foot. I write in my journal and establish my mood before checking social media, taking calls or checking emails”.